Shoe shank-piece



H. F. CRAWFORD.

SHOE SHANK PIECE.

APPLICATION FILED 05c. 26. 2919.

1,359,036. Patented Nov. 16, 1920.

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PATENT OFFICE.

HARVEY I. CRAWFORD, 0F IBMOK'ION, MASSACHUSETTS.

anon sum-risen Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 16, 1920.

Application iiled December 26, 1018. Serial No. $01,514.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Hanvnr F. Caawronu, a citizen of the United States,residing at Brockton in the county of Plymouth and State ofMassachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Shoe Shank-Pieces, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a shank piece adapted to be interposed betweenthe inner and outer soles of a'shoe, to stiiien and impart the desiredform and bulk to the shank portion of the shoe bottom, the shank piecebeing composed of leatherboard and a sheet metal stifiener superimposedon the filler and united thereto.-

The object of the invention is toprovide.

an improved union between the stiffener and the filler adapted to beformed by a single operation, and at a minimum expense.

The invention consists in the improvements which I will now proceed todescribe and claim. I

of the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification,-

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a shank piece embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7 illustrate the preferred means and mode ofoperation employed in uniting the stiffener to the filler, these viewsshowing portions of the shank piece in section. and the uniting meansalso in section.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a portion of the punch hereinafterdescribed.

e same reference chara ters indicate the same parts in all of thefigures.

In the drawings. 12 represents a non-me tallic filler. and 13 a sheetmetal stiffener superimposed upon the filler. As here shown. the fillerand shank piece are molded by pressure to impart a transversely archedform thereto. It will be understood, however, that the tiller andvstifiener may have anv suitable form.

The stifiener is cut and portions of its material are displaced to forma slot 14 and two curved hooks 15 at opposite ends of the slot. Thebooks are engaged with portions of the filler to confine the latteragainst the stifi'ener. The filler is also cut, and portions of itsmaterial are displaced to form a hookslot 16, as shown by 'Fi 2, thecurvature of one hook being oppose to that of the other, so that thebooks not only confine the filler against the stiflener, but alsoprevent independent endwise movement of the filler relatively to thestiflener.

I ave successfully used, in forming the union above described, theinstrumentalities represented by Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7. One of these is abase portion 18 having a slot 19, openin at the upper end of the baseportion. he upper end of the base portion constitutes a rest on whichthe filler 12 and the stifi'ener 13 are deposited, as indicated by F1gs.4 and 5. The other instrumentality is a plunger 20, guided in a verticalpath and reciprocated by suitable power. The lower end of the plunger isprovided with a wedge-shape punch 21, and the path of the movement ofthe plunger relative to the fixed base is such that when the plungerdescends, the wedge enters the slot 19, as shown by Figs. 6 and 7 Thedescent of the plunger from the position shown by Fig. 4, to that shownby Fig. 6, causes the wedge to cut the stiifener and at one operationform the slot 18 and the hooks 15. The punch at the same time penetratesthe filler 12, and thus forms the slot 16 in the filler. The slot 19 isconsiderably wider than the thickness of the punch 21, so that the lips12' formed by the cutting of the filler and the displacement of portionsof its material, proiect into the slot 19. as shown by Fig. 7. When theplunger rises, the portions or lips 12' tend to move toward each other,as indicated by Fig. 3. and thus contract the slot formed in the filler.

The stifiener is united to the filler by a sin le operation. whichinvolves the pla ing of the tiller and stiffener upon the fixedsupporting portion 18, and causing the plunger to descend.

In practice, two slots 14 and the a companving hooks 15 may be formedatone operation. two supporting members and two plungers hein" emplo ed.

The slot 16 in the filler is a result of the entrance of the punch 21into the SHR- ener and the filler. The apexof the punch forms atransverse slit in the stifi'ener. thus -forming the outer ends of thehooks 15, and

the inclined edges of the punch sheer the stifiener and thus form thelongitudinal edges of the hooks. The descent of the punch bends or curlsthe hooks in opposite directions, and while the apex portion of thepunch is penetrating the filler and.

partially forming the slot 16, the hooks force their way into thematerial of the filler and elongate the slot, so that when the punchreaches the position shown by Figs. 6 and 7, the hooks roject from theinner side of the stiffener into the slot, and also project in oppositedirections under portions of the filler at opposite ends of the slot.

It will be seen that the points of the hooks 15 are pressed into thecompressible filler, and that the flexible lips l2 closed togetherbetween the hooks, form a com ressible protuberance on the under side oft e filler, between the hooks, and are adapted to bear on the uppersurface of the sole. The hooks 15 are, therefore, prevented fromindenting a sole on which the filler bears.

I claim:

A shank niece comprising a non-metallic filler of compressible material,and a sheet metal stiffener superim osed on the filler, and havingportions 0 placed to form integral hooks projectin from its nner sideinto the filler and curve in oppos te directions, the points of thehooks being pressed into the compressible filler, the filler beingprovided with flexible lips closed together between thehooks, andforming a compressible protuberance on the under side of the fillerbetween the hooks, adapted to bear on the upper surface of a sole, sothat the hooks are prevented from indenting a sole on which the fillerbears.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature.

HARVEY F. CRAWFORD.

its material dis-

